Route search apparatus and route search method

ABSTRACT

There is provided a route search apparatus including a measuring unit configured to measure a traveling distance or a traveling time, a position information acquiring unit configured to acquire position information of a current point, a start point registering unit configured to register the position information, which is acquired by the position information acquiring unit when the measuring unit starts the measurement, as position information of a start point, and a route searching unit configured to, if an operation of returning to the start point is detected, search a return route between the current point designated as a departure point when the operation of returning to the start point is detected and the start point designated as a destination.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/489,707 filed on Jun. 6, 2012 which claims priority ofJapanese Patent Appl. No. 2011-136510 filed on Jun. 20, 2011 in theJapanese Patent Office, all of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a route search apparatus, a routesearch method, and a program.

Navigation devices that advise users of routes from a current place to aselected place have been widely provided. In addition to stationarynavigation devices installed in vehicles, portable navigation deviceswhich users may carry are recently beginning to emerge. On the otherhand, a portable electronic device, including a mobile phone, has beenconfigured to include a navigation function.

The portable navigation device may be installed in a cycle. In general,a cycle computer has been installed so far in a cycle and used tomeasure a cycling distance or cycling time (e.g., Patent document 1).However, with the advent of the navigation device which may be installedin the cycle, a navigation device equipped with a cycle computerfunction has been provided.

PRIOR ART Patent Document

-   [Patent document 1] Patent Application Publication No. 2003-246288

SUMMARY

The measurement function and the navigation function are individuallyinstalled. However, a combination of the two functions has not beenunder consideration. In case of cycling, a user may have to return tohis/her starting point. In this situation, in order for the user tosearch for a route to the starting point using the navigation function,the user may have to recollect the starting point and set the startingpoint as a destination. If the starting point has been alreadyregistered, it may be possible to easily set a destination by selectingthe starting point from among registered points. In this case, the userhas to perform a point registration operation and a measurement startoperation for the starting point. In either situation, the user has toperform cumbersome operations.

The present disclosure provides a new, improved route search apparatus,route search method, and program, enabling a user to easily search for areturn route to return to a start point where measurement is started.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provideda route search apparatus which includes a measuring unit configured tomeasure a traveling distance or a traveling time; a position informationacquiring unit configured to acquire position information of a currentpoint; a start point registering unit configured to register theposition information, which is acquired by the position informationacquiring unit when the measuring unit starts the measurement, asposition information of a start point; and a route searching unitconfigured to, if an operation of returning to the start point isdetected, search a return route between a current point designated as adeparture point when the operation of returning to the start point isdetected and the start point designated as a destination.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided a route search method which includes measuring a travelingdistance or a traveling time; acquiring position information of acurrent point repeatedly; registering the position information, which isacquired when the measurement of the traveling distance or the travelingtime is started, as position information of a start point; and searchinga return route between a current point designated as a departure pointwhen the operation of returning to the start point is detected and thestart point designated as a destination.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided a program configured to implement a route search methodincluding measuring a traveling distance or a traveling time; acquiringposition information of a current point repeatedly; registering theposition information, which is acquired when the measurement of thetraveling distance or the traveling time is started, as positioninformation of a start point; and searching a return route between acurrent point designated as a departure point when the operation ofreturning to the start point is detected and the start point designatedas a destination.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

As described above, the present disclosure provides a technology foreasily searching for a return route to a start point where measurementis started.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an external appearance of a personalnavigation device (PND) according to first to third embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a PND installed in a cycle according tothe first to third embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the function and structure of aPND according to the first to third embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating installation of a PND and sensorsaccording to the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a coordinate system of a PNDaccording to the first to third embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the function and structure of acontrol unit of a PND according to the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a cycling road which is used to describethe first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of a PND according tothe first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a display screen prior to the measurementof a PND according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a display screen of a PND after startingthe measurement according to the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a display screen of a PND after searchingfor a return route according to the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a display screen of a PND for selectingsearching conditions of a return route according to the first embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the function and structure of acontrol unit of a PND according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a personal data setup screen of a PNDaccording to the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a desired genre setting screen of a PNDaccording to the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a view illustrating another desired genre setting screen of aPND according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating another desired genre setting screen of aPND according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a list of registered points of a PNDaccording to the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of a PND according tothe second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a display screen of a PND after startingthe measurement according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of registering a viapoint of a PND according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of setting a returningpoint of a PND according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating the function and structure of acontrol unit of a PND according to the third embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 24 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of a PND according tothe third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of setting a returningpoint of a PND according to the third embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 26 is a view illustrating an external appearance of a mobile phoneaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating the function and structure of amobile phone according to the fourth embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that,in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elementsthat have substantially the same function and structure are denoted withthe same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of thesestructural elements is omitted.

The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described inthe following order.

1. First embodiment (Registration of a point where measurement isstarted)

-   -   1-1. Overview    -   1-2. Function and structure    -   1-3. Example of operation    -   1-4. Example of effect

2. Second embodiment (Registration of a via point)

-   -   2-1. Function and structure    -   2-2. Example of operation    -   2-3. Example of effect

3. Third embodiment (Estimation of a start point)

-   -   3-1. Function and structure    -   3-2. Example of operation    -   3-3. Example of effect

4. Fourth embodiment (Application to a mobile phone)

1. First Embodiment

(1-1. Overview)

A personal navigation device (PND) as an example of a navigation deviceaccording to first to third embodiments of the present disclosure willbe generally described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a viewillustrating an external appearance of a PND according to the first tothird embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a viewillustrating a PND installed in a cycle according to the first to thirdembodiments of the present disclosure.

The PND 10 according to the first to third embodiments of the presentdisclosure includes a different structure of a control unit 150. In thiscase, the control unit 150 according to the first embodiment will bereferred to as a control unit 150 a. Accordingly, when a functionspecific to the first embodiment is described, the PND 10 according tothe first embodiment will be referred to as the PND 10 a. Likewise, thePND 10 and the control unit 150 according to the second embodiment willbe referred to as a PND 10 b and a control unit 150 b, respectively; andthe PND 10 and the control unit 150 according to the third embodimentwill be referred to as a PND 10 c and a control unit 150 c,respectively. However, if a plurality of elements each havingsubstantially the same function and structure does not have to bedistinguished from each other, the elements are denoted by the samereference numeral. For example, if the PND 10 a, the PND 10 b, and thePND 10 c do not have to be distinguished from each other, the PND 10 a,the PND 10 b, and the PND 10 c will be referred to as the PND 10.Likewise, if the control unit 150 a, the control unit 150 b, and thecontrol unit 150 c do not have to be distinguished from each other, thecontrol unit 150 a, the control unit 150 b, and the control unit 150 cwill be referred to as the control unit 150.

FIG. 1 illustrates an external appearance of the PND 10 as an example ofa navigation device according to the first to third embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The PND 10 is equipped with a navigation function ofadvising a user of a route to a destination and a function of providingthe user with a variety of information related to position information.The PND 10 includes a display unit 12 on its front side to display animage including an information providing screen for providing a varietyof information. The PND 10 is supported by a cradle 14 a for a vehicle,which is attached to a dashboard of the vehicle by means of a suckingdisk 16. The PND 10 may be easily installed in the cradle 14 a and alsoeasily removed from the cradle 14 a. Accordingly, the PND 10 may be usedin a plurality of vehicles. The PND 10 has a function of acquiringinformation on a current position of the PND 10 and stores map data atthe same time. Accordingly, the PND 10 may display the current positioninformation, which is overlapped on the map, on the display unit 12.

The PND 10 has a plurality of operation modes, such as vehicle mode,walking mode, and cycling mode. The PND 10 may search for an appropriateroute according to the operation mode. For example, the PND 10 operatingin a vehicle mode may search for a route including a highway. Further,the PND 10 operating in a vehicle mode may predict congested areas andsearch for a route excluding the predicted congested areas. The PND 10operating in a walking mode may search for a route for walking, such asan underground passage, a station concourse, a bridge sidewalk and apark, using map data for walking other than the map data for thevehicle. Further, the PND 10 operating in a cycling mode may set a routewhich is suitable for a cycle. For example, the PND 10 operating in acycling mode may search for a route suitable for a cycle by searchingfor a route including a narrow route which is difficult for a vehicle topass through.

The present disclosure describes a technology especially suitable for anavigation device which is installed in a cycle. The PND 10 operating ina cycling mode will be described with reference to FIG. 2. As shown inFIG. 2, the PND 10 may be fixed to the cycle 50 using a cradle 14 b fora cycle. The PND 10 may be fixed to a handle 51 of the cycle 50 by meansof a cradle 14 b.

(1-2. Function and Structure)

The function and structure of the PND 10 according to the first to thirdembodiments of the present disclosure will be described with referenceto FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the function andstructure of a PND according to the first to third embodiments of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 4 is a view illustrating installation of a PNDand sensors according to the first to third embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a coordinate systemof a PND according to the first to third embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the function andstructure of a control unit of a PND according to the first embodimentof the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the PND 10 includes a display unit 12, a storageunit 102, an operating unit 104, a voice output unit 106, a connectioninterface unit 108, and a navigation function unit 110.

The navigation function unit 110 includes a GPS antenna 112, a Z-axisgyro sensor 114, a Y-axis gyro sensor 116, a three-axis accelerometersensor 118, a geomagnetic sensor 120, an atmospheric pressure sensor122, a GPS processing unit 132, an angle calculation unit 134, aposition calculation unit 136, a speed calculation unit 138, a postureangle detection unit 140, an orientation calculation unit 142, analtitude calculation unit 144, and a control unit 150.

The display unit 12 is a display device configured to output a displayscreen for a user. For example, the display screen may be a screen fordisplaying an icon representing a current position which is marked onmap data. Examples of the display unit 12 may include a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) and an organic electroluminescence display.

The storage unit 102 is a storage medium to store programs configured tooperate the PND 10, map data and the like. Examples of the storage unit102 may include nonvolatile memory, such as flash ROM (or flash memory),EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), and EPROM(erasable programmable ROM), magnetic discs, such as hard disc andferromagnetic disc, optical discs, such as CD (compact disc), DVDR(digital versatile disc recordable) and BD (Blu-ray disc (registeredmark)), and recording media, such as MO (magneto-optical) disc. The mapdata stored in the storage unit 102 may be already stored in the storageunit 102 when the PND 10 is shipped. Further, the map data stored in thestorage unit 102 may be acquired by means of a communication unit or aremote medium (not shown).

The operating unit 104 receives an operating instruction from the userand outputs the operating instruction to the navigation function unit110. Examples of the operating instruction may include setting of adestination, zooming in/out of a map, setting of voice guide, andsetting of a screen display. The operating unit 104 may be a touchscreen which is integrated with the display unit 12. Further, theoperating unit 104 may be a physical part, such as a button, a switch ora lever, which is separated from the display unit 12. In addition, theoperating unit 104 may be a signal receiver configured to detect asignal indicating the user's operating instruction which is transmittedfrom the remote control.

The voice output unit 106 is an output device, such as a speaker, tooutput voice data. For example, the voice output unit 106 outputs voiceguidance for driving lanes or turning directions when the navigationfunction unit advises the user of a route to a destination. The user maylisten to the voice guidance and recognize the drive route withoutreading the display unit 12.

The connection interface unit 108 is an interface to connect to a speedsensor 60 and a cadence sensor 70. The connection interface unit 108receives a speed pulse signal from the speed sensor 60 and inputs thereceived information to the control unit 150. Further, the connectioninterface unit 108 receives a cadence pulse signal from the cadencesensor 70 and inputs the received information to the control unit 150.The cadence is the number of revolutions of a crank per minute. It issaid that cycling at a regular cadence may help increase the energyefficiency.

The positions of the speed sensor 60 and the cadence sensor 70 mountedon the cycle 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The speedsensor 60 is installed at a position where the rotational speed of arear wheel 52 may be measured. The speed sensor 60 outputs a speed pulsesignal each time the rear wheel 52 makes one revolution. The PND 10 maydetect the rotational speed of the rear wheel 52, i.e., the cyclingspeed of the cycle 50 by detecting a pulse interval of the speed pulsesignal. The cadence sensor 70 may be installed at a position where therotational speed of the crank 54 may be measured. The cadence sensor 70outputs a cadence pulse signal each time the crank 54 makes onerevolution. The PND 10 may detect the rotational speed of the crank 54,i.e., the cadence by detecting a pulse interval of the cadence pulsesignal.

The GPS antenna 112 may receive GPS signals from a plurality of GPSsatellites. The GPS antenna 112 inputs the received GPS signal to theGPS processing unit 132. The GPS signal may include information on theorbit data representing the orbit of the GPS satellite and the transmittime of the GPS signal.

The GPS processing unit 132 calculates position information indicatingthe current position of the PND 10 based on a plurality of GPS signalsinput from the GPS antenna 112. The GPS processing unit 132 supplies thecalculated position information to the control unit 150. Specifically,the GPS processing unit 132 may calculate the position of each of theGPS satellites from the orbit data obtained by carrying out demodulationon each of the GPS signals. Further, the GPS processing unit 132 maycalculate the distance between the PND 10 and each of the GPS satellitesfrom the difference between the transmit time and receive time of eachof the GPS signals. As a result, the GPS processing unit 132 maycalculate a three-dimensional current position of the PND 10 based onthe calculated position of each of the GPS satellites and the calculateddistance between the PND 10 and each of the GPS satellites.

The navigation function unit 110 has a function of acquiring a relativeposition by means of a variety of sensors as well as a function ofacquiring an absolute position by means of the GPS antenna 112 and theGPS processing unit 132. The information on the relative position may beused in a situation where the absolute position may not be acquired; forexample, in a situation where the PND 10 is placed at a location wherethe GPS signal may not be received, for example, due to tunnels orwoods. Further, the information on the relative position may be usedtogether with the information on the absolute position.

The Z-axis gyro sensor 114 is configured to detect a yaw rate ω_(z) ofthe PND 10 as a voltage value. The yaw rate ω_(z) is the angular speedof a movement around the Z-axis of the PND 10 when the PND 10 rotatesabout the Z-axis. The Z-axis gyro sensor 114 detects the yaw-rate ω_(z)at a predetermined sampling frequency and inputs data indicating thedetected yaw rate ω_(z) to the angle calculation unit 134. As shown inFIG. 5, the Z-axis corresponds to a vertical direction; the X-axiscorresponds to a direction where the PND 10 is headed; and the Y-axiscorresponds to a horizontal direction which is orthogonal to the X-axis.

The angle calculation unit 134 calculates the angle θ when the PND 10rotates about the Z-axis by accumulating the sampling frequency to theyaw-rate co, which is input from the Z-axis gyro sensor 114. The anglecalculation unit 134 inputs angle data representing the angle θ to theposition calculation unit 136.

The Y-axis gyro sensor 116 is configured to detect a pitch rate ω_(y) ofthe PND 10 as a voltage value. The pitch rate ω_(y) is the angular speedof a movement around the Y-axis of the PND 10. The Y-axis gyro sensor116 detects the pitch rate ω_(y) at a predetermined sampling frequencyand inputs data indicating the detected pitch rate ω_(y) to the speedcalculation unit 138.

The three-axis accelerometer sensor 118 is configured to detect anacceleration α_(x) along the X axis as a voltage value, an accelerationα_(y) along the Y axis as a voltage value, and an acceleration α_(z)along the Z axis as a voltage value. The three-axis accelerometer sensor118 detects the acceleration α_(x), the acceleration α_(y), and theacceleration α_(z) at a predetermined sampling frequency. The three-axisaccelerometer sensor 118 inputs data representing the detectedacceleration to the speed calculation unit 138 and the posture angledetection unit 140.

The speed calculation unit 138 is configured to calculate the speed Vfor the progress direction by dividing the acceleration α_(z) along theZ axis, which is input from the three-axis accelerometer sensor 118, bythe pitch rate ω_(y), which is input from the Y-axis gyro sensor 116.The speed calculation unit 138 inputs the calculated speed V to theposition calculation unit 136.

The position calculation unit 136 is configured to calculate theposition information of the current position based on the speed Vcalculated by the speed calculation unit 138 and the angle θ calculatedby the angle calculation unit 134. Specifically, the positioncalculation unit 136 obtains a variation from the position obtained fromthe previous calculation to the current position based on the speed Vand the angle θ. The position calculation unit 136 supplies thevariation to the control unit 150.

The posture angle detection unit 140 is configured to detect apredetermined posture angle based on the acceleration data α_(x), α_(y),and α_(z) which are input from the three-axis accelerometer sensor 118.The posture angle detection unit 140 generates posture angle datarepresenting the posture angle of the PND 10 and inputs the postureangle to the orientation calculation unit 142.

The geomagnetic sensor 120 is configured to detect the geomagnetismM_(x) of the X-axis direction as a voltage value, the geomagnetism M_(y)of the Y-axis direction as a voltage value, and the geomagnetism M_(z)of the Z-axis direction as a voltage value. The geomagnetic sensor 120inputs the detected geomagnetic data M_(x), M_(y), and M_(z) to theorientation calculation unit 142.

The orientation calculation unit 142 performs a predetermined correctionoperation on the geomagnetic data M_(x), M_(y) and M_(z) which are inputfrom the geomagnetic sensor 120, and generates orientation datarepresenting the orientation of the PND 10 based on the correctedgeomagnetic data and the posture angle data which is input from theposture angle detection unit 140. The orientation calculation unit 142supplies the generated orientation data to the control unit 150.

The geomagnetic sensor 120, the three-axis accelerometer sensor 118, theposture angle detection unit 140, and the orientation calculation unit142 function as an electronic compass to generate orientation data. Thecontrol unit 150 may use the orientation data to provide the user withmap data displayed according to the direction of the PND 10 when the PND10 is used as separated from the cradle 14 (for example, when the PND 10is used by the user who is walking). For the vehicle mode, the PND 10may correspond the driving record to roads on the map data and providethe user with map data according to the direction of the PND 10 based onthe orientation of the map. The PND 10 may calculate the direction ofthe PND 10 from the acquired GPS orientation and provide the user withthe map data according to the direction.

The atmospheric pressure sensor 122 is configured to detect atmosphericpressure as a voltage value. The atmospheric pressure sensor 122 detectsthe atmospheric pressure at a predetermined sampling frequency andinputs the detected atmospheric pressure data to the altitudecalculation unit 144.

The altitude calculation unit 144 is configured to calculate thealtitude of the PND 10 based on the atmospheric pressure data which isinput from the atmospheric pressure sensor 122 and supplies thecalculated altitude data to the control unit 150.

The control unit 150 generally controls the PND 10. The structure of thecontrol unit 150 a according to the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The control unit150 a includes a measuring unit 151, a position information acquiringunit 153, a start point registering unit 155, a navigation unit 157, anda display controlling unit 159.

The measuring unit 151 is configured to measure a traveling speed and atraveling distance. The measuring unit 151 may calculate the average andmaximum values of the traveling speed and the consumed calories using atleast one of the traveling speed and the traveling distance. Themeasuring unit 151 may display a display screen including the travelingspeed, the traveling distance, the average and maximum values of thetraveling speed, and the consumed calories on the display controllingunit 159. The measuring unit 151 may display an operating screen on thedisplay controlling unit 159 to allow the user to operate functions ofthe measuring unit 151, and perform the starting and stopping of themeasurement and the clearing of accumulation according to the user'soperation on the operating screen.

The measuring unit 151 may calculate the traveling speed of the cycle 50based on the pulse interval of the speed pulse signal which is inputfrom the speed sensor 60. The measuring unit 151 may calculate a cadencebased on the pulse interval of the cadence pulse signal which is inputfrom the cadence sensor 70. The measuring unit 151 may measure thetraveling speed, the traveling distance and the consumed calories basedon the position information acquired by the position informationacquiring unit 153.

The position information acquiring unit 153 is configured to acquireposition information of a current position of the PND 10. The positioninformation acquiring unit 153 may acquire, for example, information onan absolute position which is supplied from the GPS processing unit 132.The position information acquiring unit 153 may acquire a variation froma position obtained from the previous calculation supplied from theposition calculation unit 136 to a current position and calculate theposition information according to autonomous navigation. The positioninformation acquiring unit 153 may acquire the orientation of the PND 10which is supplied from the orientation calculation unit 142. Theposition information acquiring unit 153 may acquire the altitude data ofthe PND 10 which is supplied from the altitude calculation unit 144. Theposition information acquiring unit 153 may acquire the positioninformation on the current position of the PND 10 by selection of someof a variety of acquired information or by combination of a variety ofacquired information.

If the PND 10 is operating in a vehicle mode, the position informationacquiring unit 153 may specify a driving road and correct the positioninformation to be the position on the driving road by a map matchingprocess based on the acquired current position information and the roadnetwork data included in the map data. Further, the position informationacquiring unit 153 may acquire accurate position information byperforming the correction process on the other position information.

The position information acquiring unit 153 may have a data loggingfunction to record the position information of the acquired currentposition over time. The recorded information is referred to as movementrecord information. For example, the position information acquiring unit153 may generate the movement record information by recording acorrespondence between the position information on the current positionand the information on the date and time the position information isacquired.

The start point registering unit 155 may store the position informationof the current position at a measurement start time when the measuringunit 151 starts the measurement as position information of the startpoint in the storage unit 102. When the PND 10 is operating in a cyclingmode, the start point registering unit 155 may correct the positioninformation of the start point to be a departure point of a cycling roadif the current position at the measurement start time when the measuringunit 151 starts the measurement is close to the departure point of thecycling road. In this case, the start point registering unit 155 maycorrect the position information of the start point to be the departurepoint of the cycling road when it is determined based on the positioninformation acquired by the position information acquiring unit 153 apredetermined period of time after the measuring unit 151 starts themeasurement that the user is riding a cycle on the cycling road.

The navigation unit 157 is configured to control operations related tonavigation functions. For example, the navigation unit 157 may functionas a part for setting a destination. For example, the navigation unit157 may set one of registered points, which is selected by the user, asa destination. The navigation unit 157 may set a point on a mapdisplayed by the display unit 12, which is designated by the user, as adestination. The navigation unit 157 may search for a desired point by asearching method, such as address searching, phone number searching,keyword searching or genre searching, and set the desired point as adestination. In the present embodiment, if an operation to return to thestart point is detected, the navigation unit 157 may set the startpoint, which is registered by the start point registering unit 155, as adestination.

The navigation unit 157 may function as a part for searching for aroute. For example, if a destination is set, the navigation unit 157 maysearch for a route from the current position to the destination usingthe position information acquired by the position information acquiringunit. The navigation unit 157 may search for an appropriate routeaccording to an operation mode. The operation mode may be changed, forexample, according to the user's operation. The operation mode may beautomatically changed to a walking mode if the PND 10 is removed fromthe cradle 14. For example, the PND 10 operating in a vehicle mode maysearch for a route including a highway. Further, the PND 10 operating inthe vehicle mode may predict congested area and search for a routeexcluding the congested areas. The PND 10 operating in the walking modemay use map data for walking other than map data for vehicles to searchfor a route for walking for underground passages, station concourses,sidewalk bridges or parks. The PND 10 operating in a cycling mode mayset a route for cycles. For example, the PND 10 operating in the cyclingmode may search for a route appropriate for cycles since the PND 10searches for routes which are difficult for vehicles to pass through.The navigation unit 157 may search for multiple routes to a designateddestination. In this case, the navigation unit 157 may display a displayscreen including the multiple routes and the map data, which overlapeach other, on the display unit 152. The display screen is generated bythe display controlling unit 150. If the user selects several routes onthe display screen, the navigation unit 157 starts guidance of a courseaccording to the selected route.

The navigation unit 157 may show the user the route to travel on throughthe display screen and the voice guide when advising the user of thecourse according to the selected route. For example, the navigation unit157 may advise the user of the course by displaying an arrow markindicating the turning direction on the map right before the userarrives at a crossroad where the user has to turn. In this case, thenavigation unit 157 may provide the user with information on the turningdirection by the voice guide. If the navigation unit 157 detects theuser entering a route other than the guided route from the positioninformation of the current position while advising the user of thecourse according to the route to the destination, the navigation unit157 may automatically search for another route from a current positionto the destination. The navigation unit 157 may automatically start theguidance of the course according to the searched route.

If an operation to return to a start point is detected after the startpoint registering unit 155 registers the start point when the measuringunit 151 starts the measurement, the navigation unit 157 may reset acurrent point, which is determined at the time when the operation isdetected, as a departure point, reset the start point as a destination,and search for a route from the current point (the departure point) tothe destination (hereinafter referred to as “return route”). Incomparison with the return route, a route from the start point to thecurrent point where the operation to return to the start point isdetected will be referred to as a traveled route. In this case, thenavigation unit 157 may estimate the traveling time of the return routebased on the traveling time of the traveled route which is measured bythe measuring unit 151.

Further, the navigation unit 157 may analyze attributes of the traveledroute based on a variety of information on the traveled route measuredby the measuring unit 151 and search for the return route taking theattributes into account according to the user's operation. The routesearch “taking the attributes into account” will be described. Forexample, the navigation unit 157 may analyze the traveling time of thetraveled route and search for a return route taking a shorter or longertraveling time than that of the traveled route. The navigation unit 157may refer to the traveling time of the traveled route and search for areturn route taking a shorter or longer time than that of the traveledroute. The navigation unit 157 may refer to consumed calories or slopeinformation and search for a return route that is easier or tougher totravel on than the traveled route. The navigation unit 157 may refer toinformation on the consumed calories on the traveled route which iscalculated by the measuring unit 151 and search for a return routetaking more or less consumed calories than that of the traveled route.The navigation unit 157 may refer to the traveling distance of thetraveled route and search for a return route having a shorter or longertraveling distance than that of the traveled route.

The display controlling unit 159 is configured to control a displayscreen displayed by the display unit 12. The display controlling unit159 generates a display screen and displays the display screen on thedisplay unit 12. For example, if the measuring unit 151 starts themeasurement, the display controlling unit 159 may generate a displayscreen including an operating button (first operating button) to performa function of searching for a return route from a current point to astart point as a destination and display the display screen on thedisplay unit 12. If the operation of the first operating button isdetected, the navigation unit 157 may search for the return route. Ifthe navigation unit 157 predicts the traveling time of the return route,the display controlling unit 159 may generate a display screen includingan estimated arrival time of the destination of the return route whichis calculated based on the predicted traveling time and display thedisplay screen on the display unit 12.

In the foregoing, an example of the function of the PND 10 a accordingto the present embodiment has been described. Each of the elements maybe made up of typical components or circuits or made up of hardwarespecialized for functions of each of the elements. In addition, thefunctions of each of the elements may be implemented by reading andanalyzing control programs describing the processing procedure of thefunctions implemented by an operation device, such as CPU (centralprocessing unit), from a recording medium, such as ROM (read-onlymemory) or RAM (random access memory), that stores the control programs.Accordingly, it is possible to adequately reconfigure the structureaccording to the level of technique of implementing the presentembodiment. For example, according to an embodiment, some of thefunctions of the PND 10 a related to the above-mentioned example may beomitted or a new function may be added to the PND 10 a.

In addition, a computer program to implement the above-mentionedfunctions of the PND 10 a according to the present embodiment may bemade and installed in a personal computer or the like. In addition, acomputer-readable recording medium storing the computer program may beprovided. Examples of the recording medium may include a magnetic disc,an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, or flash memory. The computerprogram may be transmitted, for example, through a network instead ofusing the recording medium.

(1-3. Example of Operation)

An example of the operation of the PND 10 a according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 7 to 12. FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a cycling road which isused to describe the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8is a flow chart illustrating an operation of the PND according to thefirst embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a viewillustrating a display screen prior to the measurement of the PNDaccording to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 isa view illustrating a display screen of the PND after starting themeasurement according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a display screen of the PND aftersearching for a return route according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a display screen of aPND for selecting searching conditions of a return route according tothe first embodiment of the present disclosure.

In order to describe an operation example of the PND 10 a, it is assumedthat the user installs the PND 10 a in his/her cycle and rides the cycleon a cycling road as shown in FIG. 7. If the user's home is located alittle far from the cycling road, the user may load the cycle in his/hercar and move near a start point of the cycling road. In this case, theuser parks his/her car in a parking lot near to the start point andstarts riding his/her cycle on the cycling road. If the user intends touse the measuring function of the PND 10 a, the user starts themeasurement at the start point by operating a measurement start button.In this case, after cycling, the user may return to the parking lotaround the start point, load the cycle in his/her car and return home.The user may not travel by his/her cycle from the start point to a goalpoint of the cycling road. Even though the user enjoys cycling withco-workers, they may individually return at their desired points andgather at the start point. Accordingly, the user riding the cycle havingthe PND 10 a installed therein potentially desires to easily search fora route to return to the start point.

For example, it may be assumed that the user starts measuring thetraveling speed or traveling distance at the start point CP1, travels tothe check point CP7 along the cycling road, and returns to the startpoint from the check point CP7.

Referring to FIG. 8, it is determined in operation S101 whether or notthe start point registering unit 155 detects that the measuring unit 151starts the measurement. For example, the display controlling unit 159controls the display unit 12 to display the display screen 1201 shown inFIG. 9 before starting the measurement. The display screen 1201 includesa measurement start button B1. The user may operate the measurementstart button B1 for the measuring unit 151 to start the measurement. Ifthe start point measuring unit 155 detects the measurement start of themeasuring unit 155, the start point registering unit 155 registersposition information of a current point at the time when the measurementstart is detected as position information of the start point inoperation S103. The position information is acquired by the positioninformation acquiring unit 153.

After the user performs the measurement start operation, the displaycontrolling unit 159 controls the display unit 12 to display a displayscreen 1203 (FIG. 10) including a button B2 for returning to the startpoint. The display controlling unit 159 determines in operation S105whether or not the operation of returning to the start point is detectedaccording to whether or not the operation of the button B2 for returningto the start point is detected. If the operation of returning to thestart point is determined as detected in operation S105, the navigationunit 157 sets the start point registered in operation S103 as adestination in operation S107. In operation S109, the navigation unit157 searches for a return route from a current point at the time whenthe operation of returning to the start point is detected to the startpoint. In operation S111, the navigation unit 157 starts guidance of thecourse of the searched return route.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of the display screen 1205 which isdisplayed after the return route is searched in operation S109 of FIG.8. The display screen 1205 illustrates the return route from the checkpoint CP7 as the current point to the start point CP1. In this example,the return route is the same as the traveled route. The display screen1205 may include information on an estimated arrival time which iscalculated based on the time taken for the user to move along thetraveled route.

After detecting the operation of returning to the start point inoperation S105 of FIG. 8, the display controlling unit 159 may controlthe display unit 12 to display a selection screen 1207 for selecting areturn route search condition shown in FIG. 12. In this case, thenavigation unit 157 may set a search condition of the return route basedon the user's operation on the selection screen 1207.

For example, the selection screen 1207 may be configured for the user tohave an option to return along the same route as the traveled route, anoption to search for a route to arrive at the start point more quicklythan the traveled route, an option to search for a route morecomfortable to travel than the traveled route, an option to search for aroute taking a more calorie consumption than the traveled route, anoption to search for a route taking longer time to travel than thetraveled route, or an option to search for a route having a shorterdistance than the traveled route. For example, if the user operates abutton for “returning along the same route”, the navigation unit 157 mayrefer to movement record information which is recorded during travelingand search for a return route tracing backwards the same route as thetraveled route. If the user operates a button for “arriving morequickly”, the navigation unit 157 may refer to the traveling time of thetraveled route which is measured by the measuring unit 151 and searchfor a return route taking less time to travel than the traveled route.If the user operates a button for “returning along a more comfortableroute”, the navigation unit 157 may refer to the consumed caloriesmeasured by the measuring unit 151 or the undulation of the traveledroute (slope information) acquired from the map data and search for areturn route which is more comfortable to travel than the traveledroute. If the user operates a button for “consuming more calories”, thenavigation unit 157 may refer to the consumed calories of the traveledroute which is calculated by the measuring unit 151 and search for areturn route taking a more calorie consumption than the traveled route.If the user operates a button for “returning along a route taking longertime to travel”, the navigation unit 157 may refer to the traveling timeof the traveled route measured by the measuring unit 151 and search fora return route taking longer time than the traveled route. If the useroperates a button for “returning along a route having a shorterdistance”, the navigation unit 157 may refer to the traveling distanceof the traveled route measured by the measuring unit 151 and search fora return route having a shorter traveling distance than the traveledroute.

(1-4. Example of Effect)

In the foregoing, the PND 10 a according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure has been described. The PND 10 a includes the startpoint registering unit 155 which registers a current point at the timewhen the user starts the measurement as a start point. A navigationdevice having not such a function has to separately perform an operationof starting the measuring function and an operation of registering apoint. Accordingly, the user has to stop traveling at the start point toregister the start point, and switch to a screen for operating themeasuring function to perform the measurement start operation. However,the PND 10 a having the above-mentioned function automatically registersposition information of the location of the measurement start operationwithout the user's interference if the user has only to perform themeasurement start operation. Accordingly, the user does not have toseparately perform the measurement start operation and the pointregistration operation since the start point may be automaticallyregistered if the user has only to perform the measurement startoperation. The PND 10 a may display an operating button for returning tothe start point on the screen after starting the measurement function.If the user operates the operating button, the PND 10 a mayautomatically search for a return route from a current point at the timewhen the operation of returning to the start point is performed to thestart point and provide the user with the return route. For a navigationdevice having not such a function, even though the start point isregistered, the user may return to the start point by switching to anavigation screen, finding the start point from a list of registeredpoints, and setting the start point as a destination. However, the PND10 a having the above-mentioned function automatically provides the userwith a return route to return to the start point if the user has only tooperate the operating button for returning to the start point.

2. Second Embodiment

(2-1. Function and Structure)

The function and structure of the PND 10 b according to the secondembodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 13 to 18. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the function andstructure of a control unit of a PND according to the second embodimentof the present disclosure. FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a personaldata setup screen of the PND according to the second embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a desired genresetting screen of the PND according to the second embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 16 is a view illustrating another desired genresetting screen of the PND according to the second embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 17 is a view illustrating another desired genresetting screen of the PND according to the second embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a list of registeredpoints of the PND according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

The external appearance and general structure of the PND 10 b are thesame as those of the PND 10 a according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The first embodiment of the present disclosure hasbeen described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and a detaileddescription thereof will thus be omitted herein. The structure of thecontrol unit 150 b will be described in detail.

The control unit 150 b includes the measuring unit 151, the positioninformation acquiring unit 153, the start point registering unit 155, avia point registering unit 156, the navigation unit 157, and the displaycontrolling unit 159. The measuring unit 151, the position informationacquiring unit 153, and the start point registering unit 155 are thesame as those of the PND 10 a according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure and a detailed description thereof will thus beomitted. Further, a detailed description of the same ones of thefollowing elements as those of the PND 10 a according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure will be omitted.

The via point registering unit 156 registers some of points near thecurrent point during traveling, which belong to a predeterminedcategory, as a via point. The via point registering unit 156 may referto information on a preset via point category and information on a pointof interest (POI) near the current point and extract a POI belonging tothe preset category to register the POI as a via point.

The via point category information is set, for example, by the userperforming the following operation. The user operates a button B3 forchanging a desired genre on the personal data setting screen 1209 shownin FIG. 14. If the user operates the button B3, a genre search screen1211 is displayed as shown in FIG. 15. The user selects a facilitiesgenre on the genre search screen 1211. In this example, the useroperates a button B4 for “foods” genre. In this case, a genre searchscreen 1213 including a plurality of subgenres, which is a lower genreof the foods genre, is displayed as shown in FIG. 16. The user selects adesired subgenre on the genre search screen 1213. In this example, theuser operates a button B5 for “Ramen” genre. In this case, a facilityicon select screen 1215 may be displayed as shown in FIG. 17. Forexample, the facility icon select screen 1215 may display a list ofnames of ramen stores. If the user operates a “general select” button onthe facility icon select screen 1215, the user may set all of facilitiesbelonging to the ramen stores as the via point category. Further, if theuser operates a button B6 for B ramen, the user may only set ramenstores, which are classified as the facility named “B ramen”, as the viapoint category.

The via point category information may include a predetermined categoryregardless of the user's setting operation. For example, when the PND 10b is operating in a cycling mode, the via point category information mayinclude check points of cycle shops and cycling roads. For example, ifpositions of cycle shops around the traveled route are automaticallyregistered as via points when the PND 10 b is operating in the cyclingmode, the positions of the cycle shops may be promptly displayed whenthe cycle gets out of order.

The via point registering unit 156 may register via points by, forexample, adding an extracted via point to a list of registered points asshown in FIG. 18. The list of registered points includes informationspecifying the positions of the registered points. Examples of theinformation specifying the positions of registered points may includeposition information indicating latitude and longitude.

The navigation unit 157 may include the following functions in additionto the functions described in the first embodiment. If the navigationunit 157 detects an operation of returning to a via point, thenavigation unit 157 may search for a route to return to the via point asa destination by setting a current point at the time when the operationof returning to the via point is detected as a start point and settingthe via point as the destination. In this case, the navigation unit 157may search for multiple routes. The navigation unit 157 may startguidance of the course according to a selected one of the searchedmultiple routes.

The display controlling unit 159 may include the following functions inaddition to the functions described in the first embodiment. If the viapoint registering unit 156 registers a via point, the displaycontrolling unit 159 may control the display unit 12 to display adisplay screen including an operating button (second operating button)to perform a function of searching for a route to return to theregistered via point. If the navigation unit 157 detects the operationof the operating button, the navigation unit 157 may search for a routeto return to the via point. If the display controlling unit 159 detectsthe operation of the second operating button, the display controllingunit 159 may control the display unit 12 to display a display screenincluding a list of registered points. As shown in FIG. 11, the displaycontrolling unit 159 may control the display unit 12 to display iconsindicating registered via points, such as P011 and P012, on the displayscreen 1205 indicating the return route R1.

In the foregoing, an example of the function of the PND 10 b accordingto the second embodiment of the present disclosure has been described.Each of the elements may be made up of typical components or circuits ormade up of hardware specialized for functions of each of the elements.In addition, the functions of each of the elements may be implemented byreading and analyzing control programs describing the processingprocedure of the functions implemented by an operation device, such asCPU (central processing unit), from a recording medium, such as ROM(read-only memory) or RAM (random access memory), that stores thecontrol programs. Accordingly, it is possible to adequately reconfigurethe structure according to the level of technique of implementing thepresent embodiment. For example, according to an embodiment, some of thefunctions of the PND 10 b related to the above-mentioned example may beomitted or a new function may be added to the PND 10 b.

In addition, a computer program to implement the above-mentionedfunctions of the PND 10 b according to the present embodiment may bemade and installed in a personal computer or the like. In addition, acomputer-readable recording medium storing the computer program may beprovided. Examples of the recording medium may include a magnetic disc,an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, or flash memory. The computerprogram may be transmitted, for example, through a network instead ofusing the recording medium.

(2-2. Example of Operation)

An example of the operation of the PND 10 b according to the secondembodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 19 to 22. FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of aPND according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG.20 is a view illustrating a display screen of a PND after starting themeasurement according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating an operation ofregistering a via point of a PND according to the second embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating anoperation of setting a returning point of a PND according to the secondembodiment of the present disclosure.

Like the first embodiment, it is also assumed in the second embodimentthat the user installs the PND 10 b in his/her cycle 50 and rides thecycle 50 on the cycling road as shown in FIG. 7. In addition, it isassumed that the user performs an operation of returning to a startpoint or a via point on the cycling road while riding the cycle on thecycling road.

Referring to FIG. 19, it is determined in operation S201 whether or notthe start point registering unit 155 detects that the measuring unit 151starts the measurement. For example, the display controlling unit 159controls the display unit 12 to display the display screen 1201 shown inFIG. 9 before starting the measurement. The display screen 1201 includesa measurement start button B1. The user may operate the measurementstart button B1 for the measuring unit 151 to start the measurement. Ifthe start point measuring unit 155 detects the measurement start of themeasuring unit 155, the start point registering unit 155 registersposition information of a current point at the time when the measurementstart is detected as position information of the start point inoperation S203. The position information is acquired by the positioninformation acquiring unit 153.

In operation S205, the via point registering unit 156 determines whetheror not to register a via point. The via point registering unit 156 mayrefer to, for example, via point category information and perform theoperation S205 based on whether or not a preset category is present. Thevia point registering unit 156 may perform the operation S205 based onwhether or not an operation of registering the via point is preset. Ifit is determined in operation S205 that the via point is registered, thevia point registering unit 156 performs the registration operation ofthe via point in operation S207 by extracting a POI indicating a pointbelonging to a preset genre and adding the POI to a list of registeredpoints. The registration operation of the via point will be described indetail with reference to FIG. 21.

After the user starts traveling, the display controlling unit 159 maycontrol the display unit 12 to display a display screen 1217 (FIG. 20)including the button B2 for returning to the start point and the buttonB7 for returning to the via point. In operation S209, the displaycontrolling unit 159 determines whether or not the operation ofsearching for a return route is detected based on whether or not eitherthe operation of the button B2 for returning to the start point or theoperation of the button B7 for returning to the via point is detected.

If it is determined in operation S209 that the operation of searchingfor the return route is detected, the navigation unit 157 performs anoperation of setting a destination in operation S211. The operation ofsetting the destination will be described in detail with reference toFIG. 22. As a result of the operation of setting the destination inoperation S211, either the start point or the via point is set as thedestination.

In operation S213, the navigation unit 157 searches for a route from thecurrent point to the destination. In operation S215, the navigation unit157 starts guidance of the course of the searched route.

The operation of registering the via point in operation S207 of FIG. 19will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 21. In operationS221, the via point registering unit 156 retrieves a POI correspondingto the current point from POI information based on the positioninformation of the current point. In operation S223, the via pointregistering unit 156 determines whether or not the POI extracted fromthe retrieval in operation S221 is a check point of the cycling road. Ifthe POI is determined as a check point of the cycling road in operationS223, the via point registering unit 156 adds the extracted POI as thevia point in operation S227.

In operation S227, the via point registering unit 156 retrieves a POInear the current point from the P01 information. In operation S229, thevia point registering unit 156 determines whether or not the extractedPOI from the retrieval in the operation S227 is a POI of a targetregistration genre. If the extracted POI from the retrieval in theoperation S227 is determined as a POI of the target registration genrein the operation S229, the via point registering unit 156 adds theextracted POI from the retrieval in the operation S227 as the via pointin operation S231.

In the foregoing, the registering operation of the via point has beendescribed. The operation of setting the destination in operation S211 ofFIG. 19 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 22. Inoperation S241, the display controlling unit 159 determines whether ornot the detected operation is the operation of returning to the startpoint. That is, the display controlling unit 159 determines whether theoperating button of the user is the operation of the button B2 forreturning to the start point or the operation of the button B7 forreturning to the via point. If it is determined in operation S241 thatthe operation of returning to the start point is detected, thenavigation unit 157 sets the start point as the destination.

If it is not determined in operation S241 that the operation ofreturning to the start point is detected, the display controlling unit159 controls the display unit 12 to display a list of registered viapoints in operation S245. In operation S247, in response to the user'soperation, the display controlling unit 159 determines whether or notany one of the registered via points is selected by the user, i.e.,whether or not the destination is designated by the user. In operationS249, if it is determined in operation S247 that the user designates thedestination, the designated point is set as the destination.

(2-3. Example of Effect)

In the foregoing, the PND 10 b according to the second embodiment of thepresent disclosure has been described. The PND 10 b has a function ofregistering a point classified as a specific genre among points near aposition of the traveling user as a via point, in addition to thefunction of the PND 10 a according to the first embodiment of thepresent disclosure. With such a configuration, the user may not collectonly the start point but also information on facilities classified asthe specific genre among points around a road between the start pointand a current point that the user travels on. For example, the PND 10 bmay display an icon indicating the position of the registered via pointwhich is overlapped on a map displayed on the screen for displaying thereturn route. Accordingly, the user may easily recognize the position ofthe registered via point. In addition, the PND 10 b may provide the userwith a button for easily searching for a route to return to theregistered via point. If the user operates the button, the PND 10 b maysearch for a route to return to the designated via point.

3. Third Embodiment

(3-1. Function and Structure)

Next, the function and structure of the PND 10 c according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIG. 23. FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating the function andstructure of a control unit of a PND according to the third embodimentof the present disclosure. The external appearance and general structureof the PND 10 c are the same as those of the PND 10 a according to thefirst embodiment of the present disclosure and those of the PND 10 baccording to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The firstembodiment of the present disclosure has been described above withreference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and a detailed description thereof will thusbe omitted herein. The structure of the control unit 150 c which isdifferent from that of the second embodiment will be mainly described indetail.

The control unit 150 c includes the measuring unit 151, the positioninformation acquiring unit 153, the start point registering unit 155,the via point registering unit 156, the navigation unit 157, the displaycontrolling unit 159, and a start point estimating unit 161. Themeasuring unit 151, the position information acquiring unit 153, thestart point registering unit 155, the via point registering unit 156,and the display controlling unit 159 are the same as those of the PND 10b according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure and adetailed description thereof will thus be omitted herein. Further, adetailed description of the same ones of the following elements as thoseof the PND 10 b according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be omitted.

The start point estimating unit 161 has a function of estimating a startpoint at the time when an operation of returning to the start point isdetected unless the start point is registered by the start pointregistering unit 155. For example, if it is detected that the usertravels on the cycling road, the start point estimating unit 161 mayacquire information on the cycling road from the map data and estimate adeparture point of the cycling road as a start point. As describedabove, if the position information acquiring unit 153 generates movementrecord information, the start point estimating unit 161 may estimate astart point based on the movement record information. The start pointestimating unit 161 may estimate a start point based on a measurementresult of the measuring unit 151 in addition to the movement recordinformation. For example, the start point estimating unit 161 mayestimate the start point based on at least one of the traveling time,average traveling speed, and traveling distance.

The navigation unit 157 may have the following function in addition tothe function described in the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure. The navigation unit 157 may search for a return route from acurrent point to the start point estimated by the start point estimatingunit 161. If the operation of returning to the start point is detected,the navigation unit 157 may set the start point, which is estimated bythe start point estimating unit 161, as a destination and search for aroute from the current point to the destination. In this case, thenavigation unit 157 may search for multiple routes. The navigation unit157 may start guidance of the course of a route selected from among thesearched multiple routes.

In the foregoing, an example of the function of the PND 10 c accordingto the present embodiment has been described. Each of the elements maybemade up of typical components or circuits or made up of hardwarespecialized for functions of each of the elements. In addition, thefunctions of each of the elements may be implemented by reading andanalyzing control programs describing the processing procedure of thefunctions implemented by an operation device, such as CPU (centralprocessing unit), from a recording medium, such as ROM (read-onlymemory) or RAM (random access memory), that stores the control programs.Accordingly, it is possible to adequately reconfigure the structureaccording to the level of technique of implementing the presentembodiment. For example, according to an embodiment, some of thefunctions of the PND 10 c related to the above-mentioned example may beomitted or a new function may be added to the PND 10 c.

In addition, a computer program to implement the above-mentionedfunctions of the PND 10 c according to the present embodiment may bemade and installed in a personal computer or the like. In addition, acomputer-readable recording medium storing the computer program may beprovided. Examples of the recording medium may include a magnetic disc,an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, or flash memory. The computerprogram may be transmitted, for example, through a network instead ofusing the recording medium.

(3-2. Example of Operation)

Next, an example of the operation of the PND 10 c according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference toFIGS. 24 and 25. FIG. 24 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of aPND according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 25is a flow chart illustrating an operation of setting a returning pointof a PND according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the third embodiment, it is also assumed that the user installs thePND 10 c in his/her cycle 50 and rides the cycle 50 on the cycling roadas shown in FIG. 7. In addition, it is assumed that the user performs anoperation of returning to a start point or a via point on the cyclingroad while riding the cycle on the cycling road. According to thepresent embodiment, even though the user forgets pushing the measurementstart button, it is possible to estimate the start point and provide theuser with a return route to return to the estimated start point.

The general operation of the PND will be described with reference toFIG. 24. In operation S301, it is determined whether or not the startpoint registering unit 155 detects that the measuring unit 151 startsthe measurement. For example, the display controlling unit 159 controlsthe display unit 12 to display the display screen 1201 shown in FIG. 9before starting the measurement. The display screen 1201 includes ameasurement start button B1. The user may operate the measurement startbutton B1 for the measuring unit 151 to start the measurement. If thestart point measuring unit 155 detects the measurement start of themeasuring unit 155, the start point registering unit 155 registersposition information of a current point at the time when the measurementstart is detected as position information of the start point inoperation S303. The position information is acquired by the positioninformation acquiring unit 153. If the user has not operated themeasurement start button B1, the operation S303 is omitted.

In operation S305, the via point registering unit 156 determines whetheror not to register a via point. The via point registering unit 156 mayrefer to, for example, via point category information and perform theoperation S305 based on whether or not a preset category is present. Thevia point registering unit 156 may perform the operation S305 based onwhether or not an operation of registering the via point is preset. Ifit is determined in operation S305 that the via point is registered, thevia point registering unit 156 performs the registration operation ofthe via point in operation S307 by extracting a POI indicating a pointbelonging to a preset genre and adding the POI to a list of registeredpoints. The registration operation of the via point has been describedwith reference to FIG. 21 in the second embodiment and a detaileddescription thereof will thus be omitted herein.

After the user starts traveling, the display controlling unit 159 maycontrol the display unit 12 to display a display screen 1217 (FIG. 20)including the button B2 for returning to the start point and the buttonB7 for returning to the via point. In operation S309, the displaycontrolling unit 159 determines whether or not the operation ofsearching for a return route is detected based on whether or not eitherthe operation of the button B2 for returning to the start point or theoperation of the button B7 for returning to the via point is detected.

If it is determined in operation S309 that the operation of searchingfor the return route is detected, the navigation unit 157 performs anoperation of setting a destination in operation S311. The operation ofsetting the destination will be described in detail with reference toFIG. 25. As a result of the operation of setting the destination inoperation S311, the registered start point, the estimated start point,or the via point is set as the destination.

In operation S313, the navigation unit 157 searches for a route from thecurrent point to the destination. In operation S315, the navigation unit157 starts guidance of the course of the searched route.

The operation of setting the destination in operation S311 of FIG. 24will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 25. In operationS321, the display controlling unit 159 determines whether or not thedetected operation is the operation of returning to the start point.That is, the display controlling unit 159 determines whether theoperating button of the user is the operation of the button B2 forreturning to the start point or the operation of the button B7 forreturning to the via point. If it is determined in operation S321 thatthe operation of returning to the start point is detected, thenavigation unit 157 determines in operation S323 whether or not thestart point is registered. If it is determined in the operation S323that the start point is registered, the navigation unit 157 sets theregistered start point as the destination and ends the operation ofsetting the destination.

If it is determined in the operation S323 that the start point is notregistered, the navigation unit 157 retrieves a POI corresponding to thecurrent point from the POI information based on the position informationof the current point acquired by the position information acquiring unit153 in operation S327. In operation S327, the navigation unit 157determines whether or not the current point is positioned on the cyclingroad. If it is determined in the operation S329 that the current pointis positioned on the cycling road, the navigation unit 157 registers anend point, i.e., a departure point of the cycling road as the startpoint in operation S331. The navigation unit 157 sets the registeredstart point, i.e., the departure point of the cycling road, as thedestination in operation S325.

If it is determined in the operation S329 that the current point is notpositioned on the cycling road, the start point estimating unit 161estimates the start point in operation S335. The start point estimatingunit 161 may estimate the start point based on, for example, informationon the movement record, the continuous traveling time and the averagespeed.

After the start point is estimated in the operation S335 or it isdetermined in the operation S321 that the user's operation is not theoperation of returning to the start point, the display controlling unit159 may control the display unit 12 to display a list of the start pointand via points in operation S337. In operation S339, the displaycontrolling unit 159 receives the user's operation on the display screendisplaying the list of the start point and via points and determineswhether or not the user designates the destination. If it is determinedthat the user designates the destination, the navigation unit 157 setsthe designated point as the destination in operation S341.

(3-3. Example of Effect)

In the foregoing, the PND 10 c according to the third embodiment of thepresent disclosure has been described. The PND 10 c has a function ofestimating the start point in addition to the function of the PND 10 baccording to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.Accordingly, even though the user forgets the measurement startoperation, the user may recognize the start point. If it is detectedthat the user is traveling on the cycling road, the PND 10 c may set thedeparture point of the cycling road as the start point. If the user istraveling on the cycling road, the user is very likely to starttraveling from the departure point of the cycling road. Accordingly, ifthe user is traveling on the cycling road, the PND 10 c may set thedeparture point of the cycling road as the start point without obtainingthe movement record information nor performing a complicated calculationof the average speed or the traveling time.

4. Fourth Embodiment

As an example of the navigation device according to the fourthembodiment of the present disclosure, a mobile phone will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 26 and 27. FIG. 26 is a view illustrating anexternal appearance of a mobile phone according to the fourth embodimentof the present disclosure. FIG. 27 is a block diagram of the functionand structure of a mobile phone according to the fourth embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

The mobile phone 30 shown in FIG. 26 is an example of the route searchapparatus. The mobile phone 30 includes a display unit 302, an operatingunit 304 and a speaker 324. Like the PND 10, the mobile phone 30 may bemounted on the cycle 50 by means of the cradle. Alternatively, themobile phone 30 may be mounted on the cycle 50 by means of anotheraccessory adapted to fix the mobile phone 30 to the cycle 50.

As shown in FIG. 27, the mobile phone 30 includes a navigation functionunit 110, a display unit 203, an operating unit 304, a storage unit 308,a mobile phone function unit 310, and a control unit 334.

The mobile phone function unit 310 is connected to the display unit 302,the operating unit 304, and the storage unit 308. Although not shown inFIG. 27, the display unit 302, the operating unit 304 and the storageunit 308 are also connected to the navigation function unit 110. Thestructure of the navigation function unit 110 has been described abovewith reference to FIGS. 3, 6, 13 and 23 and a detailed descriptionthereof will thus be omitted herein. The mobile phone 30 may include thenavigation function unit 110 having the function of any one of thecontrol unit 150 a in FIG. 6, the control unit 150 b in FIG. 13 and thecontrol unit 150 c in FIG. 23.

The mobile phone function unit 310 is configured to implement acommunication function or an electronic mail function. The mobile phonefunction unit 310 includes a communication antenna 312, a microphone314, an encoder 316, a transceiver 320, a speaker 324, a decoder 326,and a mobile phone controller 330.

The microphone 314 is configured to collect voice and output the voiceas a voice signal. The encoder 316 may be configured to convert thevoice signal input from the microphone 314 into a digital signal, encodethe digital signal and output the voice data to the transceiver 320under the control of the mobile phone controller 330.

The transceiver 320 is configured to modulate the voice data input fromthe encoder 316 by a predetermined modulation technique and wirelesslytransmit the modulated voice data through the communication antenna 312to a base station of the mobile phone 30. The transceiver 320 maydemodulate a wireless signal and acquire voice data through thecommunication antenna 312 and output the voice data to the decoder 326.

The decoder 326 may be configured to decode the voice data input fromthe transceiver 320, convert the decoded voice data into an analogsignal, and output the analog signal to the speaker 324 under thecontrol of the mobile phone controller 330. The speaker 324 may outputvoice based on the voice signal supplied from the decoder 326.

When an electronic mail is received, the mobile phone controller 330controls the transceiver 320 to supply the received data to the decoder326 and controls the decoder 326 to decode the received data. The mobilephone controller 330 may control the decoder 326 to output the decodedelectronic mail data to the display unit 302. The mobile phonecontroller 330 may control the display unit 304 to display theelectronic mail data and control the storage unit 308 to record theelectronic mail data at the same time.

When an electronic mail is transmitted, the mobile phone controller 330may control the encoder 316 to encode the electronic mail data inputthrough the operating unit 304 and control the transceiver 320 and thecommunication antenna 312 to wirelessly transmit the electronic mail.

The control unit 334 is configured to control the mobile phone functionunit 310 and the navigation function unit 110. For example, if a phonecall is received while the navigation function unit 110 performs anavigation function, the control unit 334 may temporarily switch themobile phone 30 from the navigation function to the communicationfunction of the mobile phone function unit 310. After the communicationis over, the control unit 334 may control the navigation function unit110 to restart the navigation function.

In the foregoing, as an example of the navigation device according tothe present embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of thefunction of the mobile phone 30 has been described. Each of the elementsmaybe made up of typical components or circuits or made up of hardwarespecialized for functions of each of the elements. In addition, thefunctions of each of the elements may be implemented by reading andanalyzing control programs describing the processing procedure of thefunctions implemented by an operation device, such as CPU (centralprocessing unit), from a recording medium, such as ROM (read-onlymemory) or RAM (random access memory), that stores the control programs.Accordingly, it is possible to adequately reconfigure the structureaccording to the level of technique of implementing the presentembodiment. For example, according to an embodiment, some of thefunctions of the mobile phone 30 related to the above-mentioned examplemay be omitted or a new function may be added to the mobile phone 30.

In addition, a computer program to implement the above-mentionedfunctions of the PND 10 c according to the present embodiment may bemade and installed in a personal computer or the like. In addition, acomputer-readable recording medium storing the computer program may beprovided. Examples of the recording medium may include a magnetic disc,an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, or flash memory. The computerprogram may be transmitted, for example, through a network instead ofusing the recording medium.

Although preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are describedin detail with reference to the appended drawings, the presenttechnology is not limited thereto. It should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various modifications, combinations,sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on designrequirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope ofthe appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

For example, although the PND has been described as an example of theroute search apparatus in the first to third embodiments of the presentdisclosure and the mobile phone has been described as an example of theroute search apparatus in the fourth embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the present technology is not limited thereto. For example,the present technology may be applied to information processingapparatuses, such as portable game machine, portable music players, andportable image processing devices.

Although the navigation device having the function of acquiring arelative position by means of sensors and the function of acquiring anabsolute position by means of the GPS has been described in theembodiments of the present disclosure, the present technology is notlimited thereto. For example, the navigation device may include aposition information acquiring unit including a receiver configured toreceive WiFi radio waves from a plurality of base stations and a currentposition calculating unit configured to calculate a current positionbased on a triangulation method using distances between the navigationdevice and each of the base stations and positions of each of the basestations, where the distances are estimated from reception strengths ofthe WiFi radio waves. In addition, although the GPS has been describedas an example of satellite navigation system, the satellite navigationsystem is not limited to the GPS. Examples of the satellite navigationsystem may include Galileo positioning system, GLONASS (GLObalNAvigation Satellite System), Compass navigation system, and QZSSSatellite System “MICHIBIKI”. In this case, a single satellitenavigation system may be used or a combination of positioning signals ofa plurality of satellite navigation systems may be used. Accordingly, itis possible to adequately reconfigure the structure used to acquireposition information according to the level of technique of implementingthe present embodiment.

In addition, although the orbit data of the GPS satellite is included inthe GPS signal in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the presenttechnology is not limited thereto. For example, the orbit data of theGPS satellite may be acquired from an external server. Alternatively,the orbit data of the GPS satellite may be stored in the storage unit102 beforehand.

Although the PND 10 c according to the third embodiment of the presentdisclosure is configured to display an estimated start point and a listof via points on the display unit 12 if the start point is estimated,and to allow the user to designate a destination on the display unit 12,the present technology is not limited thereto. If the start point is notregistered but is estimated, the PND 10 c may search for a route to theestimated start point as a destination without receiving the user'sdesignation. It should be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterationsmay occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar asthey are within the scope of the present technology.

It should be noted that in the present disclosure, the operationsdescribed in the flow chart may be performed not only in time series inthe described order but in parallel or individually. Further, it shouldbe understood that the operations performed in time series may beperformed in a different order from the described order.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1) A route search apparatus including:

a measuring unit configured to measure a traveling distance or atraveling time;

a position information acquiring unit configured to acquire positioninformation of a current point;

a start point registering unit configured to register the positioninformation, which is acquired by the position information acquiringunit when the measuring unit starts the measurement, as positioninformation of a start point; and

a route searching unit configured to, if an operation of returning tothe start point is detected, search a return route between the currentpoint designated as a departure point when the operation of returning tothe start point is detected and the start point designated as adestination.

(2) The route search apparatus according to (1), further including adisplay controlling unit configured to display a display screenincluding a first operating button for performing a function ofsearching for the return route when the measuring unit starts themeasurement, wherein the route searching unit searches for the returnroute if operation of the first operating button is detected.(3) The route search apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein theroute searching unit is configured to estimate traveling time of thereturn route based on the traveling time measured by the measuring unitwith respect to a traveled route from the start point to the currentpoint designated when the operation is detected.(4) The route search apparatus according to (3), further including adisplay controlling unit configured to display a display screenincluding a destination arrival time of the return route based on thetraveling time estimated for the return route.(5) The route search apparatus according to (3) or (4), wherein theroute searching unit is configured to analyze attributes of the traveledroute based on the measurement result of the measuring unit and searchfor the return route taking the attributes into account.(6) The route search apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5),further including a via point registering unit configured to register apoint belonging to a predetermined category, which is located near acurrent point, as a via point.(7) The route search apparatus according to (6), wherein the routesearching unit searches for a route between the current point designatedas a departure point when an operation of returning to the via point isdetected and the via point designated as a destination.(8) The route search apparatus according to (7), further including adisplay controlling unit configured to display a second operating buttonfor performing a function of searching for a route to return to the viapoint if the via point registering unit registers the via point, whereinthe route searching unit searches for the route to return to the viapoint if operation of the second operating button is detected.(9) The route search apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8),wherein when the route search apparatus is operating in a cycling mode,the start point registering unit corrects the position information ofthe start point to be a departure point of a cycling road if the startpoint is close to the departure point of the cycling road.(10) The route search apparatus according to (5), wherein the routesearching unit searches for the return route having a shorter travelingtime than that of the traveled route using traveling time of thetraveled route.(11) The route search apparatus according to (5), wherein the routesearching unit searches for the return route having a longer travelingdistance than that of the traveled route using a traveling distance ofthe traveled route.(12) The route search apparatus according to (5), wherein the measuringunit calculates consumed calories of the traveled route, and the routesearching unit searches for the return route having higher consumedcalories than those of the traveled route using consumed calories of thetraveled route.(13) The route search apparatus according to (6), wherein thepredetermined category includes a check point of a cycling road.(14) The route search apparatus according to (6), wherein the via pointregistering unit registers a point, which is classified as a previouslyselected category, as the via point.(15) The route search apparatus according to any one of (1) to (14),wherein the position information acquiring unit generates movementrecord information by recording a correspondence between the positioninformation of the current point and information on date and time theposition information is acquired, and the route search apparatus furtherincludes a start point estimating unit configured to estimate a startpoint based on the movement record information if the start point is notregistered by the start point registering unit when the operation ofreturning to the start point is detected.(16) The route search apparatus according to any one of (1) to (14),further including a start point estimating unit configured to, if it isdetected that the position information of the current point is a cyclingroad, estimate a departure point of the cycling road as the start pointif the start point is not registered by the start point registering unitwhen the operation of returning to the start point is detected.(17) The route search apparatus according to any one of (1) to (16),further including a navigation unit configured to inform of a courseaccording to a route searched by the route searching unit.(18) A route search method including:

measuring a traveling distance or a traveling time;

acquiring position information of a current point repeatedly;

registering the position information, which is acquired when themeasurement of the traveling distance or the traveling time is started,as position information of a start point; and

searching a return route between the current point designated as adeparture point when the operation of returning to the start point isdetected and the start point designated as a destination.

(19) A program configured to implement a route search method including:

measuring a traveling distance or a traveling time;

acquiring position information of a current point repeatedly;

registering the position information, which is acquired when themeasurement of the traveling distance or the traveling time is started,as position information of a start point; and

searching a return route between the current point designated as adeparture point when the operation of returning to the start point isdetected and the start point designated as a destination.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus,comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to retrieve positioninformation of the information processing apparatus at a first point;and processing circuitry configured to: register the positioninformation at the first point as a start point, wherein the start pointis registered after correction of the position information to a secondpoint on a map; receive a first user input to return to the start pointafter travel to a third point that is different from the start point;receive, after the first user input, a second user input correspondingto a condition to search for a return route from the third point to thestart point; search for the return route based on the condition in thesecond user input; and output the return route at least on a displayscreen based on the map.
 2. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to display a first operating button on the display screen,and wherein the second user input is received based on an operation onthe first operating button.
 3. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: measure a first traveling time with respect to a traveledroute from the start point to the third point; and estimate a secondtraveling time of the return route based on the measured first travelingtime and the first user input.
 4. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to display, on the display screen, a destination arrival timeof the return route based on the second traveling time estimated for thereturn route.
 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: analyzeattributes of the traveled route based on the measurement of theprocessing circuitry, and search for the return route based on theattributes.
 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to search forthe return route, that has a shorter traveling time than that of thetraveled route, based on the first traveling time of the traveled route.7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to search for the returnroute, that has a shorter traveling distance than that of the traveledroute, based on a traveling distance of the traveled route.
 8. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to register a fourth point asa via point, and wherein the fourth point is located near the firstpoint.
 9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to search for atravel route between the third point and the via point based on a useroperation to return to the via point, wherein the third point isdesignated as a departure point and the via point is designated as adestination.
 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim9, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to display afirst operating button to search for the travel route to return to thevia point based on registration of the via point by the processingcircuitry, and wherein the search for the travel route to return to thevia point is based on the user operation on the first operating button.11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, whereinthe processing circuitry is further configured to register the fourthpoint, which is classified as a category, as the via point.
 12. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to output the return route toreturn to the second point.
 13. An information processing method,comprising: in an information processing apparatus: retrieving positioninformation of the information processing apparatus at a first point;registering the position information at the first point as a startpoint, wherein the start point is registered after correction of theposition information to a second point on a map; receiving a first userinput to return to the start point after travel to a third point that isdifferent from the start point; receiving, after the first user input, asecond user input corresponding to a condition for searching a returnroute from the third point to the start point; searching for the returnroute based on the condition in the second user input; and outputtingthe return route at least on a display screen based on the map.
 14. Theinformation processing method according to claim 13, further comprising:measuring a first traveling time with respect to a traveled route fromthe start point to the third point; and estimating a second travelingtime of the return route based on the measured traveling time and thefirst user input.
 15. The information processing method according toclaim 14, further comprising displaying, on the display screen, adestination arrival time of the return route based on the secondtraveling time estimated for the return route.
 16. The informationprocessing method according to claim 15, further comprising: analyzingattributes of the traveled route based on the measurement; and searchingfor the return route based on the attributes.
 17. The informationprocessing method according to claim 16, wherein the analyzing includessearching for the return route having a shorter traveling time than thatof the traveled route using the first traveling time of the traveledroute.
 18. The information processing method according to claim 16,wherein the analyzing includes searching for the return route having ashorter traveling distance than that of the traveled route using atraveling distance of the traveled route.
 19. The information processingmethod according to claim 13, further comprising displaying the returnroute.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedthereon, computer-executable instructions that, when executed by aninformation processing apparatus, cause the information processingapparatus to execute operations, the operations comprising: retrievingposition information of the information processing apparatus at a firstpoint; registering the position information at the first point as astart point, wherein the start point is registered after correction ofthe position information to a second point on a map; receiving a firstuser input to return to the start point after travel to a third pointthat is different from the start point; receiving, after the first userinput, a second user input corresponding to a condition for searching areturn route from the third point to the start point; searching for thereturn route based on the condition in the second user input; andoutputting the return route at least on a display screen based on themap.